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Killer Plants; Nagging Questions; Food Safety; Caviar King

Answers to all your nagging questions (like what is charcoal really made out of)...finally! And Afghanistan is not just a war zone. It has a rich culture and we'll hear about the food. Plants that can kill you. And when a hamburger killed her 2 year old son, a mother turned into a food safety activist. Plus the market report takes a look at wild berries.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Ice cream headaches and what's in charcoal. Answers to nagging questions courtesy of columnist Roxanne Webber. Susan Marx lives in Afghanistan and shares the rich food culture. Be afraid of plants. Some of them can kill you says Amy Stewart. When Barbara Kowalcyk's 2 year old son died after eating a tainted fast food hamburger she became an activist to change food safety rules. Marion Nestle explains the unbelievable maze that makes up our food safety system. The challenges of keeping bees in Los Angeles according to beekeeper Kirk Anderson. Then, Armen Petrossian describes the how to enjoy the delicacy of fine caviar. And Laura Avery shares tales of wild blueberries at the farmers market.

Robert and Rob Poole of Redlands bring down all varieties of blackberries. They will have them for three weeks only. Find them at the Hollywood Sunday market and the Wednesday Santa Monica farmers markets. The boysenberry is their specialty. These can be stored in a plastic container in the fridge with a moistened paper towel. You can also freeze them. First freeze them on a cookie sheet and then place in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. That way you can pull a few out at a time rather than having to thaw them all out at once.

Zach Walter is the Chef de Cuisine at Cube Cafe and Marketplace on 615 La Brea near Melrose. He is making his own sausage and salumi. He buys a whole pig from farmers up north and is trying to encourage local farmers to raise humanely treated and organicly fed animals. Find Cube at the Taste of the Nation event at Media Park in Culver City on Sunday, June 14th from 1pm to 5pm. Cube will be making a peach and tomato salad with fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar and basil.

In 2001 Barbara Kowalcyk's 2-year old son died after contracting E. coli O157:H7 from a hamburger. The tragedy of his death propelled her into a life of food-safety activism. She started the non-profit Center for Foodborne Illness and continues to lobby Congress for an improved food safety system.

Her fight is chronicled in the film Food Inc. Evan is hosting a Q&A with producer Elise Perlstein on Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 pm at the Nuart Theater.

Marion Nestle is a Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of numerous books including Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Her blog, FoodPolitics.com, covers a variety of food issues including safety.

Kirk Anderson is a beekeeper living in Los Angeles. He practices "backwards beekeeping," which means that he doesn't use a "foundation" in his hives. Traditional beekeeping uses plastic or beeswax foundations printed with a hexagonal cell pattern to draw their comb. Instead, backwards beekeepers use a strip of wood or cardboard and allow the bees to draw their own comb, naturally. Backwards beekeepers pride themselves for being chemical-free.

Kirk raises feral bees which he collects from trapping swarms of bees. He sells honey on his website.